


Freedom To And From

by EdinaSaunders



Category: American Horror Story, American Horror Story: Asylum
Genre: F/F
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-02-20
Updated: 2019-02-20
Packaged: 2019-11-01 12:38:58
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 846
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/17867438
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/EdinaSaunders/pseuds/EdinaSaunders
Summary: Lana and Jude have a plan to escape and start a new life. It’s all mapped out, and Lana is ready.





	Freedom To And From

Jude had gone, as according to plan, one week prior. Lana was now alone in Briarcliff without an ally. She endured more aversion therapy as well as many other tortures in the week following Jude's departure. They’d been worse and more frequent now that she didn’t have the benefit of Jude's leniency towards her. She knew it would be like this, and braced for it. There were times all she wanted to do was to die, to quit, to end this seemingly eternal suffering, but the plan kept her going. She was tough. She could make it out.

Lana went over the details in her mind a hundred times. She knew exactly the path to take and what time to take it. She almost knew how many steps it would take. She had waited for this. Jude had arranged nearly everything. She’d be a mile west of Briarcliff, waiting to pick Lana up. Then they’d be free.

Lana executed everything perfectly. She snuck through hallways undetected, holding her breath when she came close to being caught. Her eyes found a clock. She was making good time. All she needed was to get to the tunnels. Jude had told her about when she had been investigating Dr. Arden. That was her escape route. From there, she was to run across the grounds and all the way to Jude. She was nervous, shaking, wondering if her weakened body could take all the exercise and anxiety.

Finally Lana reached the tunnels. Her heart already raced. She knew Arden sometimes came down here at night, so she’d have to be quiet, wary. She wouldn’t run, that would attract too much attention if there were someone else down here. She’d walk, stick to the shadows. It wouldn’t be hard in the poorly lit underground passage. She crept through, the tunnels seeming endless. She feared she’d never find her way to the end, to the outside, to Jude.

That’s truly what kept her going. Jude. After Wendy, after Briarcliff, she’d never expected to find happiness again. And, yes, their relationship hadn’t started out on good terms, but Jude wasn’t the heartless monster she pretended to be when they first met. She was only trying to survive the place like she was. She used her power as a weapon, a way to stay on top. But she showed Lana the real her. The one that used to sing in nightclubs. The one that wore silky red lingerie under the false pretense of her habit. The one that wanted her, desired her. Lana had desired Jude as well. The real Jude. And that's when their plan came about.

The end was in sight at long last. Lana could see the door, almost feel the cool night air calling her. She ran the last few feet. If she had made it this far, she could be sure no one was around. She pulled at the door. It was heavy, but it eventually opened with a loud, metallic groan. She snuck out of it and stole away, not bothering to close it. It had made enough noise as it was, she feared any attention it would draw. They’d know she’d escaped eventually anyhow, but she planned on being long gone before that.

She took off running, each step carrying her closer to Jude. God how she had missed her. Only a week had passed since they had said a rather lengthy goodbye, but the week that had followed, for Lana, had been agony. So she ran, cold air hitting her skin and blowing through her uncombed hair, but she felt none of it. She just felt free.

The mile it took to reach the bright red car passed quickly. Jude stood outside, looking anxiously around for Lana. When she finally spotted her she smiled, her lipstick just as bright red as the car she drove. Lana had reached the car less than a minute after Jude saw her. She was out of breath, and looked a wreck, but it’s the best she’d felt in a very long time. She hugged Jude, happy for the contact. She’d been so deprived of anything human, she’d nearly actually lost her mind this past week.

"Get in. We shouldn’t linger," Jude instructed. She opened the passenger door for Lana and Lana dropped in, exhausted. Jude walked around to the driver's side and got in herself. She glanced over at Lana and briefly took her hand, giving it a squeeze. "Get some sleep. We've got a long drive ahead of us." Lana nodded, already looking on the edge of sleep, and Jude put the car in drive.

They finally stopped, arriving somewhere hundreds of miles from Briarcliff. They’d gone out of Massachusetts, through Pennsylvania and now resided in New York. It had been a slow start, getting back on their feet, but Lana's book helped. It got Briarcliff closed down, and it had brought in money for them. They got a comfortable house, made friends in town, and threw parties. They left their pasts behind them, content to move on together.

**Author's Note:**

> This is a fic I wrote for Femslash February 2019. If you’d like to see more for Lana/Jude, please leave me a request. 
> 
> https://archiveofourown.org/collections/Edina_Saunders_Prompt_Collection
> 
> Comments and Kudos are appreciated.


End file.
